There has been known an art for improving the user convenience by enabling a user to make an input to an operation target device via a touchless operation with no touch on the operation target device (Patent Literature 1, for example).
According to an art disclosed in the Patent Literature 1, a user (car driver) can select a desired operation menu item, by making, as a touchless operation, a predetermined sign with his hand while holding a wheel with the hand. Specifically, the user (car driver) is notified of respective names of operation menu items of an in-vehicle device (such as a car navigation system) via audio. When the user is notified of a name of a desired operation menu item, the user makes a touchless operation such as described above. Then, the device detects a sign made by the user with his hand based on images obtained by a camera, and performs processing that corresponds to the desired operation menu item.
By the way, in order to further improve the user convenience, it is desirable to enable the user to appropriately switch an input mode depending on the situation where the user operates an operation target device, between a mode for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation such as described above and an input mode for receiving, as an input, a touch operation made on a button, a touch panel, or the like included in the operation target device.